HC Deb 06 March 1991 vol 187 cc279-80
16. Mr. Ian Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans his Department has to develop forestry within the United Kingdom.

Mr. Lang

The Government remain fully committed to the expansion of forestry in the United Kingdom, and are providing substantial grants to encourage tree planting. Woodland management grants will be introduced from 1 April 1992.

Mr. Bruce

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his reply. I wonder whether, in his busy programme, he could find time to come and visit the forests in south Dorset, for which he is responsible in terms of policy. Can he given us some indication how forestry has developed in the past 10 years, and whether any changes in policy have been brought about by the farm woodland scheme and other schemes intended to take farmland out of food production?

Mr. Lang

I thank my hon. Friend for his kind invitation to visit south Dorset. I should certainly like at some stage to take it up, as my responsibilities for forestry stretch throughout the United Kingdom. I am glad to be able to assure my hon. Friend that there has been a major expansion of forestry in the past 10 years, with about 250,000 hectares of new planting. In addition, the processing industry has been revitalised, with investment of about £1 billion. The farm woodland scheme, which we are currently reviewing, has led to about 2,200 applications to plant about 15,000 hectares—a high proportion of the trees being broad-leaves. The forestry industry is in good heart and in good shape.

Mr. Maclennan

Does the Secretary of State recognise that the timber industry based on planting in the northern part of the Highlands has been set back by the designation process of the Nature Conservancy Council? Will he ensure that the regional council gives impetus to the review of policy? Its first intervention has not produced the resolution of the dispute between the parties that was hoped for.

Mr. Lang

The hon. Gentleman knows that my predecessor as Secretary of State for Scotland gave this matter very close attention and sought a solution that would reconcile the conflicting interests of land use in the hon. Gentleman's constituency, having regard in particular to the important environmental aspects, but also to the need to generate employment through tree planting and in other ways. I hope that these matters will proceed more satisfactorily and more effectively once Scottish Natural Heritage is fully established. Indeed, our proposals on natural heritage areas, which we shall make clear very shortly, may well have considerable application to the hon. Gentleman's constituency.

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